§294s Rural Maternal and Obstetric Care Training Demonstration

Summary

The Secretary must give grants to accredited medical, osteopathic, and nursing schools and other health training programs to set up a rural training demonstration. The goal is to train doctors, residents, fellows, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurses, certified nurse midwives, home‑visiting workers and other licensed local professionals to lower preventable maternal deaths and serious maternal illness by improving prenatal, labor, birth, and postpartum care in rural communities. Grant money must be used to plan, build, and run evidence‑based training and can also pay for administration, faculty development, or units needed to run the program. Training may cover things like maternal mental health (including perinatal depression and anxiety), substance use disorders, social factors that affect health in rural areas, and ways to improve care for racial and ethnic minority patients, including reducing bias. Grant applicants must apply to the Secretary with the required information. Grant recipients must send performance data so the Secretary can evaluate the program. By January 1, 2026, the Secretary must report to Congress on how the program affected the amount, quality, and location of maternal care, the demographics of people served, maternal and infant outcomes before and after the program, and whether the program should continue. Up to $5,000,000 is authorized each year for fiscal years 2023 through 2027.